InsaneJournal

"You have a silver tongue."
Who: Zevran and Alma
What: They go on a picnic!
When: Friday afternoon
Where: A park
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13 for telepathy



He didn’t want to rub the whole thing in Alma’s father’s face, but at the same time, they were going on a picnic. It wasn’t like they could meet in a specific place. Which was why he was only a tiny bit nervous as he rang the bell to her home, picnic basket and flowers in one hand. While orgies were par for the course for Zev, he wasn’t entirely familiar with taking sweet teenage girls out for picnics.

Being a telepath meant Alma had a better understanding of sex than most virgins. It also meant she was a lot more frustrated than most virgins. But she could put that out of her mind, and like her garden, be zen. At the very least worrying about simple things like that was better than worrying about what her powers could do if she lost control.

So was worrying about what to wear. She did want to impress him, even if all they did was eat.

From her reading on the internet, she thought that a picnic called for a sun dress. She went with something yellow, not wanting the color of blood, even if it looked good on her. The neck line plunged just enough, and it was flowy. Just in case, she brought a sweater. It might be cold.

Smoothing down her hair, she opened the door. And stared. He was just as handsome clothed as naked!

"Hello." She made sure to not speak too formally, "Zevran?"

Zev had dressed casually but in what he knew would look good on him - jeans and a tank top because the day was warm. It showed off his myriad tattoos. He’d tied back his hair to keep it out of his eyes. When he saw her, he couldn’t help but grin, bowing a little to take her hand and kiss it lightly. “That is me. And I trust that you are Alma!” His heavily accented English wasn’t perfect, but quite good for someone who’d only started to learn it in his teens.

He was very, very handsome, and she found heat creeping up to her face. Alma smiled, finding his polite mask to be very intriguing. She also found his accent charming, "I am Alma. You are in luck, he is out. I do not think he would hurt you, though."

“I did make him promise not to hurt my face if he does!” He laughed loudly before handing her the flowers. He’d gotten her a bouquet of daisies - roses had seemed way too serious for a picnic, and he really didn’t want Wrex to come and beat him up in his sleep.

He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. “I do not know what foods you enjoy, so I packed many choices.” She was prettier than he’d thought she’d be, and it made him smile more often. “I hope you do not regret the choice to come out today!”

"It is a very pretty face." She grinned, embarrassed, "I wouldn't want to ruin your career. I think he would enjoy it though. He does not get to butt faces nearly often enough. You probably do not want to give him an excuse."

Alma squeezed his hand back. She was finding that she really liked physical contact with people. It was comforting and it was something that she hadn't known she needed until recently.

"I will not, Zevran."

He motioned her toward his car. Even though he had loads of money and could very easily drive a flashy car, he drove a Smart car. It got better gas mileage, and it was unassuming enough that people wrote him off as some sort of hipster. Nobody assumed it was a porn star in the tiny car.

Once they were settled, Zev let her pick out the songs on the radio, pleased to just be with her. “This is a very nice way to pass an afternoon, yes?”

Gigantic pornstar in a tiny car, coming soon to an adult theater near you!

After giving the car an approving look, Alma picked out the classical music station almost immediately. Though her tastes had grown quite a bit since she escaped the lab, she thought this would be pleasant to talk over.

"Yes." Alma smiled at him, then added nervously, "It's very nice."

She folded her sweater in her lap. It was warmer than she thought it would be, but she'd have it, just in case, and the action kept her hands busy, "I was doing some reading. Do you often get protests at public appearances?"

“Mmm, Dvorak,” Zev smiled. He appreciated her musical choice. The place he’d selected for the picnic wasn’t far, just a park up the street, but far enough where they’d want to drive. His question struck her as very insightful, and he nodded in response.

“From time to time, but I usually take the time to meet with the protestors and make sure they have things to drink, things of that nature. They have the right to their opinion and to express it. They are people as well.” He’d been able to sway a couple of them with his charm as well.

"It seems like they could have better uses for their time than protesting pornography," Alma said, intelligent eyes watching Zevran with curiosity. She found the whole concept of people getting upset over other peoples' business fascinating, "They simply do not have to watch if it offends them."

“That is the paradox that is humanity! We should only worry about ourselves, and yet we worry about others so much. We covet their belongings, their spouses, their way of life, and we think that if they do not agree with us on every little thing they are making a comment that we ourselves are wrong. There are billions of people, no? Billions of little worlds, then, and all of them are correct.” He smiled at Alma as they swung into a parking lot of a park, amused at the conversation. He didn’t usually get philosophical with women he cared about, but Alma was special.

She shook her head, "Not all of them are correct. People can be wrong. You could say the world is flat, and believe it, but you would be wrong. But you speak of intangible things. I suppose in a way everyone can be right. But what if you hurt people over it?"

“Ah, but that view is right for that person. I am speaking of personal preferences. Those, I cannot change. And I try not to hurt people. I do not think what I do hurts anyone. If it did, I would stop. If anything, I give an outlet to things that would hurt people. A man told me once that my movies helped him not to leave his wife because she was unable to be intimate due to illness. Of course, I think that is … strange, that physical contact would be more important than worrying, but … well. I do not have the best frame of references for these things.” He thought briefly about his childhood, about how he’d seen his father for maybe a grand total of three hours in his life. Love was foreign to him.

"If someone were addicted to porn it would hurt them," Alma pointed out. She wondered more at this man. He seemed like a book, and the only thing that the world saw was the blurb on the dust jacket. She could open the book, invade his privacy and see everything that made Zevran who he was. It was tempting, but all she allowed herself was the equivalent of opening the book and skimming the first few pages.

She understood. How a father could ignore him. Her own biological father had been very distant, seeing her as more a subject of study than a daughter. Alma gently took his hand and squeezed it, "Humans are animals that crave contact. As simple as a caress, or as complicated as a sexual encounter."

“But I am not the one supplying them with the addiction. I’ve also tried to help with groups that support pornography addiction.” He turned his head to smile at her, wondering idly if his mother was at all like Alma. When Zev had been born, his mother had died, and his father had wanted nothing to do with the scandalous child born out of wedlock. So Zev had been shuffled from nanny to nanny then boarding school to boarding school, never really making attachments, getting smacked around by the caretakers who saw him as just another spoiled rich boy. “I can only be responsible for what I put into the universe. And I think the good outweighs the bad.” He wondered if Alma disliked what he did.

"Do you think what you do is good for society?" She asked, after a moment's thought. That anyone would ever hit this sweet man upset her, and she squeezed his hand tighter, trying to wrestle control of her emotions. The last thing she needed (or Zevran needed) was for her to broadcast her feelings to everyone around them.

"I used to think the work I did was. I learned I was wrong."

He thought for a moment. “In a way? I think sometimes sexuality is confusing for people and they don’t know what they want or like. I get letters from many people telling me I helped them realize what they prefer in bed, what genders they do and don’t like. I even had an asexual person write me a letter saying that they felt it was okay to be that way after I said I thought it was okay in an interview.” He cocked his head. “In a small way I do. I wish I could do more.”

He realized they hadn’t gotten out of the car yet and laughed. “But for now, we feast! Would you like to pick where we will sit outside?”

Alma pondered that. She hadn't gotten a libido until after she'd gotten off the shots her father had her on. It hadn't even occurred to her that not having one would be considered bad. There were days she wished she was still on those shots!

"Through your actions and words, you make people understand. I like that, Zevran." She smiled at him. It was genuine, and warm and fond. She opened the door and looked around, then pointed at a tree, "There. I like that tree. It reminds me of a dead tree from my dreams, only alive."

Turn the bad to good.

He couldn’t help but smile at her. “Sometimes when life gives you a dead tree, you have to see the beauty in it. Take your pleasures when they come, yes? Because life is short.” He smiled and walked over to the tree, setting the basket down and unpacking the blanket. He spread it out, a warm fuzzy thing in slate blue. “I brought you a great number of sandwiches of different sorts and dips and things.” He’d really just gone into a deli and explained he had a date with a beautiful woman he wished to impress. He didn’t really know what was in the basket, just that it weighed a ton.

"Oh." Alma smiled, rubbing the back of her neck, "I hope there aren't too many additives. Supermarkets fill their meats with so many chemicals it is hardly food."

Alma had a bit of a tick when it came to what went into her food. Too many years in a sterile lab eating food grown right there, and too large an understanding of the chemicals and other deadly substances that went into food. She'd come to realize she couldn't have the perfect, clean type of meals she was used to. But it still bothered her. If he'd gotten the sandwiches at a deli, though, she thought that would be fine.

"That does smell good, though.." As an after thought, she added, "I am hardly beautiful."

“I went to a deli, so I hope there are not too many as well!” He laughed to himself, starting to set out the different foods, settling on a turkey and pesto sandwich for himself. But her comment made him look over at her. “Who has told you such a falsehood? Do you think I would risk life and limb for a woman who was anything but brilliant and stunning? Oh, no, I value my body too much. There is something wonderful in you and I am glad to be here with you so I may experience it.”

"Life and limb?" Alma said? This elicited a real laugh from her, "It's a picnic, you are not risking anything but your time."

The rest of his words sunk in and she started to turn the color of the red wrapper one of the sandwiches was wrapped in, "You have a silver tongue."

It sounded good. She'd read it in a book once.

“Your father is an intimidating man!” He nibbled his sandwich and leaned back against the tree. It was wholly refreshing to be around a person who didn’t look at him lewdly or want him for one thing. He was smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for, and Alma didn’t talk down to him. “So I have been told, but never in this capacity. I thank you for the compliment, Miss Alma.”

"He's a big angry turtle man," Alma replied, her smile turning fond. "But I think he has a soft center."

She picked up the sandwich, and took a bite out of it. She was attracted, but he was also smart, a good conversationalist, and sweet. Ignoring his implication about his tongue for fear of sputtering like a fool, she said, "I seem to have had a good streak at picking out friends. It's why I trusted you with my real name."

Alma thought she should explain that, so she did, "I am registered under a false name, for my safety."

“My father thought of doing that for me for a time.” Then he’d just shamed him out of Spain with a hefty buyout. It wasn’t bad for Zev; while he loved Spain and at times missed it greatly, he did also love the States. And people seemed to like his accent. “I hope I do not get you into trouble.”

"I am more worried I might get you in trouble. But the people who were..after me..are not as much of a threat now. It is good to relax." She swallowed another bite, studying him with keen eyes. She tried her flirt on.

"And the company is handsome."

That made Zev laugh out loud. “And here I thought your motives were entirely pure!” He couldn’t help but tease her, leaning closer. “You are going to end up breaking my heart, Miss Alma, of this I am sure.”

"I thought you'd end up breaking mine," Alma replied, wondering at this man's ability to make her skin heat up. She grinned, deciding to play along, "I assure you, it is not just your body I am after."

“Oh, no, I will not. I promised your father. I will be honest with you above all things.” He smiled and kissed her lightly before leaning back and eating more of his sandwich.

Alma had a positively stunned look on her face. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first one that had been given to her, instead of her kissing Roy, who'd never really responded to it. She put that disappointment out of her mind.

Because it made her lips tingle and it was hard to speak. She giggled.

He couldn’t help but grin and laugh at the same time she did; she was infectious. It was like she hadn’t gotten to laugh nearly as much as a girl her age should have, and it made him feel awful for her. But he hadn’t kissed her out of pity; he’d truly wanted to. He really did want to keep her safe and happy and a thousand other white knight activities that he seldom wanted to engage in with anyone else. It was worrying. “Am I that poor a kisser?”

Fingers smushing her sandwich a bit, Alma tried to play it cool and otherwise sound like a normal girl, "No, that was really good. I don't have all that much experience to compare to but it was really good."

He hoped it wasn’t her first, if only because she deserved better than him. “I’m glad you thought so.” His arm was close enough that they were touching, but not oppressively so. He wondered why she’d had to change her name, but he didn’t want to ask her. He wanted her to tell him when she was ready to do so. “You’ll get more as you get older. I do not know why you do not have people beating down your door! No wonder your father is so protective.”

It was and it wasn't, but that was really just playing semantics. Alma ducked her head, resisting the urge to dive into his mind again. He deserved his privacy. She could sense no real deception to her, and that was enough. His concern was readable even without being able to pick up thoughts and emotions.

"I can go into great detail about biology. It turns most people off." She paused, then she added, thinking he might like the story, "I dated this boy once. I do not think he appreciated me laughing when he showed me his genitals."

Zev laughed at that. “Most men do not, but if it was your first time, how could you not laugh! They do look quite silly. Women are elegant because everything is on the inside. Men are wobbly.” He flapped his hand about, knowing she’d know what he was miming. “The same thing happened to me my first time, but I laughed at her too. Of course, I was far younger.” Thirteen was pretty young by anyone’s standards.

"We did not have sex. But it was funny looking." She found herself laughing at his description. Not only because it was funny but because it was true. She reached over and took his hand, "You are less funny looking, from what I could tell, but the circumstances were also different."

He bit his lower lip and chuckled. “I hope you did not watch me doing anything particularly scandalous. I would hate to ruin your impression of me.” He looked over at her and kissed her hand gently. He really did care what she thought.

"They were pretty...vanilla?" That was the word people used for that sort of thing, wasn't it? His lips on her hand made her sound a little breathless, "I was trying to satisfy my curiosity, that is all."

“You will find what you enjoy the more you explore that aspect of yourself. Really, my rule has always been as long as I respect myself the next day, I will do anything that strikes my fancy. As long as everyone participating is happy.” He moved to tuck some hair behind her ear that the wind had blown out of place.

"That's a good rule," Alma breathed, closing her eyes at the touch, and forgetting about the sandwich in her lap. Zevran made it easy to forget just about everything. He made her feel special. Not that others didn't, but there was 'father' special and then 'guy' special.

Wanting to kiss her again was going to drive him crazy, he could tell, but he’d bear it. He didn’t want to force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, rather he wanted her to want to kiss him first. He was fairly sure she wanted to, but he didn’t want to go on guesswork. So he figured he’d chat. “Are you still in school?”

Kissing Zevran again was really high on her list of things she wanted to do, she just wasn't sure how to do it, or if it was really wanted.

"I graduated from college when I was fifteen," Alma replied scooting a little closer. She was rightfully proud of that fact, "I majored in biology and minored in psychology."

There were so many flirtation openings in that sentence....

Dark brown eyes went wide. “Fifteen?” Without even really thinking about it he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “That is truly impressive. I did not go to college. I do not think my skills and talents are found in academia.” He was trying not to nose into her hair, but it was difficult. A light kiss was planted on her temple.

Alma shivered, melting into the warmth of his arms and closing her eyes. She rested against him, idly tracing the contours of his jaw with one finger. Zevran had a nice jaw...

"I am sure you have the intelligence to make it in college, if you found the right course of study." Alma's voice was a bit murmured and a bit dreamy. She replaced her finger with her lips, hesitantly, and whispered, "I was..bred to be smart."

That didn't seem to matter as much to her right now. She thought about this man who had been denied so much and yet somehow found a way to come on top. Alma was happy for him.

Her choice of words made him cock his head. Bred to be smart? He hoped that wasn’t the case, but she was kissing his jaw and making him shiver. He closed his eyes, summoning up all the self-control he could muster. Turning his head he kissed her gently again, fingers running lightly through her hair.

Letting out a sweet, almost mewling sound, Alma kissed him back, the fingers of her right hand resting against his cheek. She hoped she wasn't terrible, or as needy as she felt. Or at least she tried to hope with the part of her mind that wasn't completely engrossed. She didn't at all care about how many other lips might have touched his. Hers were right now.

She needn’t worry; she had an instinct for how much pressure to use, for where to put her hands. He wished he’d had those instincts as a teenager. Fighting the urge to pull her closer, he smiled against her mouth, hoping she was enjoying herself as much as he was. Certainly kissing was part of his work description, but those rarely had any amount of feeling or passion behind them. His on-screen partners didn’t get the part of him that cared. Alma was.

Alma let the kiss break naturally, her eyes fluttering open as she pulled away just enough to peer into his eyes. That had been fun, and nice, and plenty of other words she'd remember later. For now, though, she relished the enjoyment in his eyes, her own eyes reflecting it back to him.

"You're..that was...good."

“Yes. Yes it was.” He chuckled and stroked her cheek lightly, shaking his head. “You have done that before, that was not the kiss of a beginner!” She was comfortable in his arms and he was well aware of how that shouldn’t be so. She was young. Too young, he thought, but he wished he could care about that more.

Alma's cheeks reddened and she shook her head, "Not really. I have kissed but it was more...he didn't kiss back." She didn't break eye contact, "I just kissed you like you wanted to be kissed. Call it..intuition."

“You seem to have excellent instincts,” Zev grinned, squeezing her hand. Laying down onto his back he looked up at the clouds. It was a beautiful day and he liked laying down to simply daydream for a while. Sighing to himself, he stretched and grinned at her. “What do you do now, Alma? How do you pass your days?”

"Some would call them supernatural instincts."
Looking down at him, Alma studied his face. She liked how relaxed he was, and rested her hand on his chest, "I have a zen garden. I read, and paint. I study, and tutor some of the other teenagers at the Ranch. I try to be..well rounded."

She'd recently been introduced to a game called 'Minecraft' and had already lost several hours to it.

“You have a ranch?” He ran his fingers lightly over her hand as it rest on him, running his fingers lightly over the veins in her hands. “That must be wonderful. I have a dog, I think he would like you and you him.” Supernatural was the word for her instincts, yes, but he didn’t pay much mind to her word choice.

"It's my adoptive father's ranch," Alma clarified. "It's for children who would other wise go to jail, or have no other place. Or have.." She trailed off, almost saying 'powers.' "It's where I was directed to when I ran away. It's a good place."

His touch sent shooting sensations all the way up her arm and she shivered, "Animals and I do not always get along..."

“I wish I had been in such a place! Boarding school was not a good place.” He looked at her and smiled. “Spot likes everyone, it will be all right. I promise.” He was a huge black lab who had not a spot on him, but the name had tickled Zev due to its wholesome commonplaceness.

"I am sorry." She shifted, leaning down closer to study his smile. He named his dog Spot? Whatever tickles his fancy, she supposed. She'd probably be very unimaginative herself if she ever had a pet.

If any dogs could actually stand to be around her, anyway. She'd been working on that...

"I think you would have been made welcome."

His fingers were still running up and down her hand, lightly tickling her. “I am glad that you have a place where you belong. It is an important thing.” He sometimes wondered if he’d ever have that.


"I found it quite by accident. Maybe you just need to look harder." Alma grinned, trying to stifle a giggle at the tickling, and trying to also ignore the urge to curl up next to or on top of Zevran. He looked so comfortable.

“I have been looking my whole life,” he smiled. “This is the closest I have found.” He loved his home, a fairly nice looking townhome that was immaculately clean. He spent enough time sweaty and sticky at work to tolerate it at home. “Perhaps someday.”

"That's good. Feeling at home is a feeling I think that everyone should know," Alma replied. She started to lean in, then hesitated, and straightened back up. She didn't move her hand though. She was drinking in the physical contact and the way it made her buzz.

"Some day, you will find it."

“You may lean on me if you wish.” He saw her lean in, grinning to himself. “I do not mind.” He hoped she was right; sometimes he thought that he didn’t have a place to belong and that was simply his lot in life.

Alma snuggled in almost immediately, resting her leg over Zevran's and tucking her head into his shoulder, "I admit I do not know the boundaries between us, yet."

“Were you any other woman, I do not think I would be stopping at just this, but you are not. You can ask whatever questions you need to make sure you feel comfortable.” He stroked her hair, turning his head and nosing gently. “Your shampoo smells lovely.”

"I do not want to stop," Alma said, closing her eyes. She really didn't want to get him arrested, or worse, but he was so comfortable that she wasn't sure she cared right now, "Thank you, it is Head and Shoulders."

“Well, I also want to make sure you know fully what you are getting into.” He yawned drowsily before reaching over to get his drink, sipping his lemonade contentedly. “See? This is the perfect way to spend an afternoon, no?”

Alma kissed Zevran's shoulder lightly. It was the nearest part of him to her lips, and it seemed like the natural thing to do. A picnic while the weather was still good was indeed a grand way to spend an afternoon, and she nodded her head lazily, "No? Yes."